Machine for making glass articles.



PATBNTBD DEC. ,25, 1906.

A. RASPILLAIRE. 'MACHINE FOR MAKING GLASS ARTICLES.

APPLGATION FILED MAR.15,1904.

z SHEETS-SHEET 1.

fw f QU i. v

PTENTED DEC. 25, 1906.

AQRASPILLAIRE. l MACHINB'POR MAKING GLASS ARTICLES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.15, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET Z.

.ene-UST RASPILLAIRE, or 'I vioReAN'rowN, wESrvindnu or oNE-rHIRD ro JOSEPH LKEENER AND oNE-THIR'n. WABRIGK, or MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA.

MACHINE FOR MAK|NG GLASS ARTiCLES-.w

*AENT t 'Specification of Letters Patent.

PatentedzlDec. 25. 1906.

mima@ feed March 15, 1904.. serai no. 198,274;`

To all whom/vilt may concern:

B e it known that I, AUGUST RASPILLAIRE,

. a citizen of the United States, residing at .Niorgantowm in' the county of Monongalia and `State of Test Virginia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Machines n u c I n lowing 1s a specification.

for Makin@ Glass Articles, of which the fol-A This .invention relates to machines for' making glass a rticles,and lit is in the nature of animprovement upon the machine disclosed by my Contemporaneonsly-pendingapplication, Serial No. 148,391, 'filed' March 18,1903.

The'invention is shown in one simple and convenient embodiment thereof in -the ac.-

companying drawings, .forming a part4 of this specification, which embodiment will be set forth atA length in; the yfollowing description, while the novelty 'of'the invention will be embraced-by the claims 'succeeding Such dei .scrip`tion. il wish to state at this point that 'madeby said drawings ani- I donot limit myself .to the recise disclosure description, for

material variations as 'to a number of features lmay be adoptedwithin l'the scope of my claims.

view of the apparatus, showing t e manner Yof drawing the glass. "of the core' vshown in the preceding v4figures,

Fig; 4 is an end view and Fig; 5 is a bottom plan view of thesame.

Fig. 6 is aA Fig. 7 is a l1` e view of the-plungerhead and i erspective viewr ofthe plunger.

the leading end of the drawn glass, `showing said head as lopened tov Veffect the detachment of the glass'therefrom; Fig'. Sis a view in elevation of .a modifiedform of machine. Fig.' 9 is a top plan view of .the modified form of plunger, and Fig. 10'is ape'rs ective view of said modified plunger'fope'ne to| secure the 'tained within any suitable receptacle, such as se eration of the glass sheet therefrom.

iike characters denotelike parts throughoutthe several `figures.-

The molten'glass'to be drawn' may be conthat denotedbyf. The receptacle 2 may be the'forehefarthof a glass-melting tank of the tom.

`the article is tobe hexagonal or cylindrical,

ltion of water into said waterl .aterwlll .C117-i 1 0'5 ordinary kind. The glass, in practice, is meltedin said tank and flows therefrom -by 55 way of an aperture opening into such forehearth.

The machine illustrated includes in its organizationa core and means for drawing the molten glass from a'receptacle, such as that 6o hereinbefore denoted by 2, and placing such molten glass around the core. i

The core illustratedis denoted by 3, and it is approximately of yoke form-'that is to' say, it comprises a horizontal bottom and 65 vertical sides rising from the ends' of saidlbot- -In other words, the core is of skeletonl form, and it may be made from any desirable material or size. The shape illustrated of course is a simple and convenient one.. The-7o shape of the core will be altered to accord with the shape of thev article itis desired to:` draw-oblong when the article is toV be tubularly oblong, hexagonal or cylindrical when or of other shape when the article to bedrawn is of other tubular shape. The core contains interiorlytwo chambers, as 4 and 5, into the chamber 4 of which air-may be directed, whileinto the chamber 5 water may be directed,'or instead of air 'and water equivalent. cooling .agents may bedirected into such chambers. For -exam le, I might Idirectair into the chamber 5l an waterinto the chamber 4, -but prefer to have the relation herein- 255,.

before stated. The two chambers are separated from each other in 'some desirable manner. lnthe bottom. of the core 3 is a longit'udinal slot 6, int'owhich the air-chamber 4 opens. ln fact, saidslot constitutesailout- 9o 4let or delivery mouth for the air-,chaniber- 4,f

and it is represented as extending lpracflcally ,M the entire length of the cross-barI or, horizon-f tal portion of the core ,The topsofthside bars or vertical-branches ofthe., coref :are: 95 closed, therefore, to similarly close the two chambers therein at such. points. Atwatersupply pipe, as 7, is connected withthe upper, Side of the cross-bar of the yoke subst antially centrally thereof, while water-outlet pipe sa s 8, lead from the said water chambenorompertinent at the upper .ends 1 of the. ,side branches ofthe core'. Upon; ;the 1ntrodnc,-

wayofth'e supply-pipe 7fsuchA culate through/the water-chantillenl s Theprincipa-l advantage derived, therefore,

from the auxiliary air-su ply device is the payes out theoutlet-pipes 8, the water during its' circulation through such water-chamber eifectua'll'y cooling the core, so that when the v'lass is drawnaround the same, as will heremafter appear, the possibility of-such glass sticking against the horizontal bar of the core as it is elevated above th'e level of the molten mass in the receptacle 2 is eliminated. A, The

v water therefore cools or chills the core, and in addition tol this it also chills the glass at about the level of the molten mass in the re. ceptacler2 andin vthis case aids the air-blast hereinafter described, which is utilized for chilling the' interior of the tubular or hollow article; at or about thel drawing-point.'y .By virtue of' this chilling at the place indicated I am enabledto draw articles of thicker glass than. whereanoutside chilling is used and also' equalize the heat of 4the molten mass of glass, which is nio elia-ble to chill in vits outer portion. In prac ice and prior to'a draw the core is lowered to a .position in proximit to the levelj of the moltenl bath of mass 'of g ass,

at which timethe'wa'ter .is caused to circulate through the core to secure the advantages setfol'th. In practice the several pipes 7 and 8 will be supported for sliding'movem'ent l wise fitte in suitable 'guides l carried by a cross-head,

whereby the corel can be bodily'raised and lowered, it being lifted, as will hereinafter' "that Aart ofthe draw which is free ofthe cooling andsetting.

l. flow into their chambers in the hollow core.v

core' rom collapsing or warping.

As hereinafter ap ear, mavemploy an auxiliary airsupply evice.l T 's auxi iary 'air-supply device-enables the glass to bedrawn moreV rapidly and results in its quicker not essential, for I can chill the glass by the primary chilling means to such an extent as v f of a band, vertically movable 1n andshaped 1to preventA its collapse or bellying inward.

fact tha-trapidity of wor is assured by its presence.4

As previously set forth, the core in operationis loweredjto bring the under side* ofits cross-bar in proximity 4to the level? of the molten bath or mass inthe forehearthor other rece tacle 2, and just prior to the draw Awater an air, through the operation of suitable cocks, (notshowin.) arepermtted to The'airfrom the air-chamber of the, core' is delivered by way o'f thefslot I6 directly on @2g-.fof molten material, and as' the Its use, however, is f draw is elevated upward and around and in `the collapse of the free portions of the draw whenthelatter, which is in tubular form, surrounds the core.V During the drawing operation the core is stationary or at rest, whereby the air is delivered interiorly ofthe draw and at substantially the level' of the molten `bath throughout the entire draw.' The air,

rising, passes upward between the horizontal bar of thecore and 'glass draw, so as 'to avoid unnecessary friction between its parts and to provide an air-cushion between the same. The plunger l1s denoted in a general Way by 10, and 1t is supported, like the core., for

ri'singand falling-movement. Said plunger includes in its construction a body 1 1, having -a removable head or bait proper, as, 12, the head being removable to facilitate the disconnection of the draw or ,set glass tube, cylinder, or other inclosed part, from the' plunger-body. y The plunger is adapted to dip into. the 'molten bath in the receptacle 2 and to be raised upward therefrom', and as the,

latter operation takes place the glass is drawn from the receptacle bythe plunger.

The plunger is adapted to surround the-core, and its shape is approximately they same as that of the core, t e plunger preferably having a close' fit around the core. The plungerbody presents 'a form that is practically oblong in plan, and it has in 'its lower edge exteriorly thereof a rabbet into whioh'the head 12 is set, means of a suitable nature being pplvided to lde'ta'chably unite the'wtwo parts. ven the plunger is lowered-into the molten bath or mass it does not,0f course, leave the core. v

In the inner face of the removable head4 or bait 12 of the plunger is formed a groove 13- 'of unbroken or continuous form, into' which the molten mass, as the plunger'y is dip ed thereinto, can flow, and as will ,hereina ter' appear I compress the molten glassl in such .groove in `order to initially chill the same at .such place and to' assure its firm' adherence', to the plunger-head. Seated within the groove 13 1s a presser-device 14 in the shape cross-pieces, as 1 6, from the centers of which7 latter ropes or cables, as 17, extend upward, .by drawing upon which the presser device can vbe lowered through the medium of'said levers and their connections, now tobe de- 'scribed Links, as 18, are plvotally connected'to the inner arms of the severallievers.` 15 and' are likewi'sejointed tothe presser cle-'- rool IOS

r ro

.said presser' device Aelei/ated. v When the plunger is' dipped into the mass of moltenv glass andiwhen the latter has passed into the 5 for it maybe actuated in any other. desirable groove 13 of the plunger-header bait 12, the presser device is forced downward by pulling the ropes 17 upward'so as to compress the glass into the groove andagainst the bottom thereof and assure the leading edge of the drawadhering to the bait as the draw is elevated. In addition to this the presser device also initially chills the leading edge of the draw. When the ropes 17 are released, the springs 19, ofcourse, return the presser device to its primaryposition in contact with 'the lower edge of the body of the plunger. l have described the presser device 1*-1 as being manually operable.` This is not essential,

way.

In operation thecore 3 is lowereduntil its horizontal bar or transverse portion is at about the levelof the molten glass', at which time both air and water are direct-ed into said At this point the plunger, including, of

core. course, the head or bait .12 thereof, is lowered into the molten bath, after which the presser device 14 is operated, as previously described The, plunger is then elevated, drawing the glasatherewith and carrying 1t aroundthe core'which shapes the glass, the draw .agreehereinbefore set forth. l/Vhen the plunger 1s lifted above the core a desired distance, the

tube of glass is separat ed from the molten bath gl ass, with its attached plunger-head or bait,

can be transported by means vof a crane (not illustrated) to an annealing-evento toughen the glass.. Vhen. the glass annealed, it is removed from the annealing-furnace with the plunger-head or .bait attached thereto. -The plunger-head is then removed from the bait, and to facilitate this operationsaid plungerhead consists of two hingedlyrconnectedsections which can be opened to bring about the tions for the exit of air therefrom.

understood, is open,

result set forth. When the plunger-head is in its operative position, the two hingedlyconnected sections of each other. l f l Although the glass when detached from the bai-t is tubular, it presents two large flat portions which are separated from the curved portions of the draw so as to form two fiat sheets.- The said ila-t portionsma'y be separated from the curved portions in any' desirable wayto form the sheets, and such sheets will be found to be without flaws or burns. As the bait when dipped intothe molten glass is cool or comparatively so, the molten glass will not stick to it, but is simplv head, thereby preventing the cracking or breaking of the glass due to contraction and expansion'.

A machine constructed as hereinbefore described prevcnts the collapse or shrinkage of the sheet-glass during the drawing operation and the cracking or breaking of the glass at the 'point where it is united to the bait and also facilitates the separation of the glass from the bait after the draw.

The air-blast hereinbefore described initially chills the molten bath within the draw, so as 'to avoid the possibility of the 'draw or the free portions thereof collapsing when the course are 'united to hookedinto the groove of the bait or plungercore is inclosed or partially inclosed by such draw. The lcore maintains the draw in a stretched condition.

i provide auxiliary cooling or setting means for the glass, as hereinbefore stated 5 but of course said auxiliarycooling means may be omitted. By their provision, however, rapidity of work 'is assured. The aux.- iliary cooling or air-supply means illustrated will now be set' forth'. A horizontal pipe is represented at 20, located above and in parallelism with the cross-bar of the core 3. This pipe consists of two sections .suitably connected, and air-supply pipes, as 21, are connected with suoli pipe-sections, which, it will be observed, have a multiplicity of perfora- This air is directed into the draw at a point above the' level of the molten bath and serves, as previously set forth, to augment the effect of the main air-supply. The pipe 20 maybe united with the core or may be separate therefrom, as deemed desirable. It does not, of course, come in contact with the draw. The air rising into the interior of `the drawboth from the main and auxiliary air-supply means passes out of the top of the draw, which, asis The auxiliary air-supply pipe 20 is of course removed from the draw with the core 3. f InFigs. Sto 1.() .I have illustrated `amodified form of the apparatuS,` Which lwill now describe.; The core represented these iigures consists of two parts,. each' denoted by 22' and hollow and vertically disposed.

IOO

IIO

IIS

ISO

. co're 3.

VV'aterl supply and outlet pipes (each denoted by 23)'are connected with the top of the coreparts 22, so as to secure the circulation of water throughthe said core part-s to chill or cool the same precisely as the case' with'the This result, ho vever, may be otherwise accomplished. For e ample, the core parts might be covered with asbestos. The plunger is denoted by 24 and is in the form of two hingedly-connected sections which approach each other between their ends and which are widened at their ends to present sleeve-like parts 25 to traverse the two corel parts'22 on the lowering and raising of the plunger. rl"his plunger is grooved exactly ike the lunger hereinbefore described and operates in practically the same manner. it does not, however, draw a tube, but draws a sheet of glass with vtwo tubularv parts connected to its ends surrounding the core parts,

' which tubular parts are subsequently discoiinected from the intermediate hat portion to form a` s heet of glass. The core parts keep the sheet of glass drawn from the bath or molten mass in a stretched condition. At a predetermined point in the height of the two core parts 22 they are of less diameter than thelower part thereof, so as tofacilitate the separation of the sheet from such core parts after the draw. T he operation of drawing the glass with the modified form of apparatus, the annealing, and other steps in the procedure are substantially the same as those hereinbefore indicated and need not,

' s a eof the core.

tro uced into 'the draw is not intended to` therefore, be repeated. The core in both of wthe forms hereinbefore described is chamand does not, in fact, perform any function with relation to shaping or maintaining the shapeof the draw, but is intended when used to assistin chilling the draw in order to give it .set and to lubricate 'the' core', as it were-that is to say, to form a thin film of air about the core to assist iii preventing the lass sticking to the material of the core. luch air is not intended to in any manner assist in either initiating or maintaining the shape ofthedraw, but when used is used merely-for the purpose of assisting in the chilling action and lessening the possibility of the glass'adhering to the material of the core. This is an idea' ifadiiiiy distinguished from result.

apparatus in which air is introduced into a draw for the purpose of filling out the space inclosed bv the draw, preventing the. collapse of the walls of the draw, and maintaining the.

shape of the draw. Heretofore inthe art of mechanical glass-drawing, so far as I am aware, it has been possible onlyto draw cylinders, and this has been proposed to be done by utilizing a cylindrical-shaped bait which l initially will draw glass in cylindrical form' from the molten bath and tlien'mainta'inl that cylindrical forni by proposing to introduce into the draw j ust-a suflicient quantity of air to maintain that cylindrical formi My inveni tion contemplates no such idea, but rather to give forni to the draw by the core, against which. core the glass in the act of drawing'is in actual operative contact, wherebythe shape of the draw will accord with the shape of the core, Vhenit is desiredto introduce air into the draw to facilitate, as it may be, the cooling of the glass and prevent possible clinging of the glass to the niaterial'of the.

core, the air does not perforni any function whatever in relation to the shape of the draw,

but serves merely as a cooling or chilling and lubricating agent. A' distinct broad characteristic of my in'- vention resides in the utilization of a core about which the glass is drawn and with winch the glass is in operative contact suflicient to give the sha-peto the draw without the use of auxiliary means for determining or altering the shape of the draw.

When the core is of oblong configuration, such as illustrated in the drawings in my application, the draw will be of oblong tubular configurationthat is to say, it will have two straight flat sides joined together at the ends by semicircular portions-an'd the draw when removed may be separated at the ends to form two lat sheets of glass, dispensing with the necessity of the usual necessary flattening process, which has been found essential where glass is drawn in cylinders. This idea is a 4valu able one materially cheapening the process of mechanically drawing or producing flat sheets of glass, and, so far as I am aware, no one prior to my'inventi'on has pro osed or has sucpeeded in accomplishing this esirable Having thus described the invention,- what l -I claim is 1. In a machine of the class described, the combination of'a core having water and air chambers,the air-chamber having an outlet,

means for ydelivering air and water into theA core, means frdrawing glass around the core, and supplemental air-sup ly means situated-at a point above said out et.

2. In amachine of the class described.v

means for drawing glass in tubular form from a glass-bath, and means for directing a cooling agent into the draw simultaneously at different points in its height. n

'combination of. a core, and a plungersurio 'rounding the' core and arranged to dip into- ,vice seated in the groove and adapted to.

agent iiito the draw at approximatelj.T the level of the bath, `and independent means for deliv -ering a cooling` agent into the draw at a higher point.

4. Iii a i'nacliine of the class described, the

a glass-bath and to draw glass therefrom around the core, the plunger having a groove to receive the molten material, and means i for compressing the molten material intosaid groove.

5. In a machine of the class described, the

Acombination of a core, and a plunger surrounding the core and arranged toydip into 'a glass-bath and to draw glass therefrom Y zoaround the core, the plunger having a groove to receive the molten material, a presser der ess the molten material against the bottoni of the draw, means for normally holding the presser device 1n its me'lective position, and

6. In a machine of the class described, the

combination of a core, and a plunger surrounding tlie core and arranged to dip into ra glass-bath and to draw glass therefrom around the core, the plunger having a groove to receive the molten material, a presser device seated in the groove and adapted to' press the molten material against the bottoni of said groove, yieldable means `for normally holding the presser device in an ineffective position, and independent means for iiiipai'tin g a working nioif'einent to the presser device.

7. In a machine of the class described, a glass-drawing bait having a groove to receive molten glass from a bath, and means for compressing the molten material in' said groove.

S. In a machine of the class described, means Jfor drawing glass in tubular forni from a glass-bath, and means for directing a cooling agent into the draw interiorly tlieieorl at uniform but dierent pointsin the height of the draiv.

In testimony whereof- I liave hereunto set my hand 'ni presence oftwo subscribing Witnesses.

AUGUST RASPILLAIRE. fitnesses JnssiE MORRIS, JAS. A. MEREDITH. 

